• Yumin Zhong, Richard B Jaffe, Ming Zhu, Aimin Sun, Yuhua Li, and Wei Gao.
• Department of Radiology, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 1678 Dong Fang Road, Shanghai 200127, People's Republic of China. yumink@online.sh.cn
• Pediatr Radiol. 2007 Mar 1; 37 (3): 256-63.

BackgroundCine angiography and echocardiography have been utilized to diagnose congenital aortic arch anomalies. However, the visualization of great vessels by echocardiography is limited, while cine angiography requires cardiac catheterization with ionizing radiation. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) is a noninvasive modality suitable for visualization of congenital aortic arch anomalies.ObjectiveTo evaluate the utility of contrast-enhanced MRA in the diagnosis of persistent fifth aortic arch, a rare congenital aortic arch anomaly, and to compare the diagnostic accuracy of MRA with that of echocardiography and cine angiography.Materials And MethodsIn four pediatric patients, contrast-enhanced MRA studies were performed for diagnosing persistent fifth aortic arch. The findings of MRA were compared with echocardiographic findings and confirmed by cine angiography and operation.ResultsTransthoracic surface echocardiography noted an aberrant vessel arising from the ascending aorta in two of four patients; the etiology of this vessel was uncertain. In the other two patients a diagnosis of coarctation was made. Of the four patients, only one was diagnosed with interruption of the aortic arch. Contrast-enhanced MRA clarified uncertain echocardiographic findings, enabling the correct diagnosis of persistent fifth aortic arch with fourth aortic arch interruption in all four patients.ConclusionContrast-enhanced MRA is a safe, accurate, and fast imaging technique for the evaluation of persistent fifth aortic arch and may obviate the need for conventional cine angiography. Cardiac catheterization may be reserved for some types of complicated congenital heart disease and for obtaining hemodynamic information.

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